2024-2025学年度第二学期期末考试
高二英语
阅读理解
A
Sea stories are something that fascinates everything right from childhood. Sea is mysterious for all of us and stories related to it are sure to get everyone keen and interested. Sea stories are a perfect mix of mystery, adventure, thrill, awe and excitement. So, here we present our pick of the best four sea stories of all times in English literature.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
This book is not to be missed by all who love sea stories. This is the most famous book about whaling that ever was. Melville got inspired to write this book when he was shipping aboard a Yankee (北方佬) whaler. The three-part climax is the most loved part of the book.
Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
In this book, the mission of Heyerdahl is to prove that South American Indians have the option of migrating to Polynesia. He and his crew stand on a light raft and take one of the greatest real-life sea epics of all times.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
This is the grand work of all sea stories. Written in 1883, this adventure novel narrates a tale of “pirates and buried gold”. It is one of the most popular sea novels of all times and its influence on popular perception of pirates with eye patches and one-leg sailors with parrots on their shoulders is dominating the world literature and movies even today.
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
Slocum is a Canadian who is probably the last of the great American sailor. His fame lies in the fact that he sailed his vessel the Spray, in an unassisted sailboat. This book is definitely among the best of the real-life sea adventures.
1. What do the works by Heyerdahl and Slocum have in common?
A. They have three-part climaxes.
B. They focus on sailing and whaling.
C. Their authors are Canadian sailors.
D. They are based on the authors’ real experiences.
2. If a reader wants to read stories about pirates, which book can he or she choose?
A. Moby Dick. B. Kon-Tiki.
C. Treasure Island. D. Sailing Alone Around the World.
3. Where is this passage probably taken from?
A. A book guide. B. An academic report.
C. A conference notice. D. A fashion magazine.
B
Taelor Reynolds, a student at New Castle Elementary School, was born with a rare syndrome, a condition that resulted in limb differences in both of her hands. At just six years old, she has already undergone eight surgeries.
Despite the challenges she faces daily, her mother, Traci Reynolds, says she’s incredibly strong. “She’s a trooper,” Traci shared. “The last surgery that she had in August was an actual finger movement, so that now she has difficulty grasping her right hand. She is a twin also. So I think it’s hard for her seeing that her sister can do things that is either impossible for her or more challenging for her.”
Taelor doesn’t currently use prosthetics (假肢) and often struggles with everyday tasks, but she has a strong support system — including school counselor Kimberly Logsdon. “It’s really heartbreaking to see that she doesn’t have the same opportunities that other kids have,” Logsdon said.
Motivated by Taelor’s resilience (复原力), Logsdon took action. During a campus tour of Old Dominion University (ODU) with her son, she noticed a prosthetic device in a lab and had an idea. She approached the university’s engineering students, hoping that they could create a custom device for Taelor as part of their year-end project. The students agreed — and even connected her with an organization focused on supporting children with special needs.
Now the team of ODU engineering students is working to design a personalized prosthetic solution. After taking measurements, they’ re building prototypes (原型) that could significantly improve Taelor’s quality of life. Their goal is to finish the project by the end of summer.
“So she has one pointer finger on that hand,” Traci explained. “Right now, they’re going to add additional fingers, so that she’s able to grasp things, silverware, things like that. Right now using the restroom is one of her biggest obstacles. They’re going to actually make a toileting tool so that she can do it on her own.”
4. Why did Traci regard Taelor as a trooper?
